moretech

I have received a notice from MBUSA that they will extend the SBC control unit and pump warranty for a total of 25 years, unlimited miles for SL's '03-12. Repairs already paid for may be reimbursed if done at dealer and accurate records are still available. This does not depend on who now owns the vehicle. Anyone else got one of these?

moretech

Aussiesuede

Yep, the warranty was indeed extended to 25 years unlimited miles:

SBC Warranty Extended to 25 Years

Extended SBC Warranty

moretech

I think this is rather big news. I wonder what precipitated this? Might be a real good sticky note for the forum.

moretech

Rudeney

That is great news!

gaazmon

Yes!!! Amazing!!! Found this pdf doc on the W211 forum posted by ItalianJoe1. This also covers W240 Maybach and C199 SLR now too so great news for those owners.

Aussiesuede

Mercedes of Canada had already extended the SBC warranty to 15 years, and the US is a much more litigious country. There have been consistent lawsuits filed since 2009, official complaints to the NHTSA, and multiple Class Actions Lawsuits forming since 2015. Due to the age and mileage of the affected vehicles, a massive wave of catastrophic brake failures over the next few years was a pretty high likelihood. This was the smartest strategy for Mercedes to avert a public relations nightmare as the general driving public became aware of the imminent danger, and Mercedes ambivilance to the issue. All those years of building a reputation as builders of safe reliable vehicles was about to receive a punch to the gut (Think Pinto's and the gas tank issue).

Rudeney

The difference between this and the Pinto is that MBZ published the fact that the SBC control unit has a finite lifespan. Of course premature failures are serious problems, but simply reaching its EOL is really just a maintenance issue. Regardless, I'm not going to look a gift horse int he mouth here!

groves73

Got my letter today. What are the odds that I had the pump reservoir due to warning light 2 weeks ago. Had it done at an indie. Will see if they will reimburse. Glad to hear its 25 years now!

BlownV8

The fact that the brakes could fail so early is a serious issue. The brakes are the most important safety feature.on our cars. When you can't brake, you will crash. The built in obselence of a safety feature is inexcusable for modern vehicles. I'd think a jury would eat their lunch in court.

cadbob

I got letter in mail. So guess it will be going to dealer soon.

cetialpha5

Oh yeah, maybe this car had SBC brakes.

cadbob

How do they determine if SBC is to be replaced?

Rudeney

There is an internal counter that registers each time the pump runs. Once that reaches a certain number (300,000 cycles?) you will get a "Service" message on the instrument cluster. When the pump fails, you'll know it because you will have "reduced" power brake assist. And by "reduced", it means maybe 10% of normal, so it's just slightly more effective than trying to stop the car by dragging your foot ont he pavement.

kbob999

Jeez...I just purchased an SBC accumulator and was getting ready to rebuild the SBC motor with new brushes. Then I'd be good as new. Now I'm not sure what to do.
Should I wait for the SBC to fail then have MB replace it? I don't like the sound of any failure.
At least this is good news they are covering the SBC...but for what? Failure, or number of cycles?

cadbob

I reset mine 3 years ago back to 0% because I inadvertently UN-plugged it and had SBC Error so I reset it. Guess I'm SOL.
Maybe I could change it again to 75%?


Sort of like Manual Brakes Rodney I have heard. I remember learning to drive with cars with no power brakes. Fact is was weird having power brakes and steering at 1st. lol

Rudeney

I have driven many old cars without power brakes. Driving an SBC car without it working is many times worse!

BTW, got a letter in the mail today from MBUSA, along with a page insert for the warranty booklet:

http://benzbits.com/SBC_Warranty_Letter.PDF

http://benzbits.com/SBC_Warranty_Page.PDF

ItalianJoe1

The extension covers any mode of failure that would be normal cause for replacement under warranty. So pretty much any SBC fault that justifies replacing the unit will be covered.

Rudeney

Yep, if you look back at the original "Newschannel Update" letter in the first post, damage code "43 102" is covered. It instructs the shop to use this code for replacing an SBC unit when the service life has been reached.

cadbob

Yes, I got mine in the mail as well, think it came Saturday.They must of got my name from my one and only dealer visit when they miss diagnosed my Shift Linkage a few weeks back. I'm just curious if they are replacing all SBC's as they were some faulty ones.

moretech

Thinking a bit more on this topic, if repaired once under this new warranty, but still 25 years have not passed by, will they do it again if replacement unit fails? That was a point that occurred to me when 1st reading the narrative.

moretech

Rudeney

I would guess that like any warranted item, as long as the failure is within the warranty period, it will be covered no matter how many times it fails. Honestly, I am very surprised that MBZ is doing this. They typically do not issue these types of warranty extensions unless mandated by government agencies. I am not aware of any mandate in this case. And a 25 year warranty? That's almost unheard of from any automobile manufacturer.

As for how MBUSA got the addresses of the owners, you do not have to have taken the car in for service. I have not had nine at the dealer since I bought it. Your state DMV agency is supposed to supply ownership information to all manufacturers so you can get recall notifications. That's how they found all the current owners.

moretech

I sure agree with Rodney above. An unlimited mileage and 25 year warranty about knocks me right out but that is the case. Unheard of!!.

moretech

carguyshu

if you have STAR you can reset the counter to any number you want through dev mode

Ralphie

Wouldn't it be nice if they did the same for ABC.

Rudeney

Other than anecdotal incidences of hoses failing sooner than they should, there are no inherent ABC problems. It's just a hydraulic system that will require maintenance over time. Some cars may require more maintenance than others. There is no finite lifespan for the system as there is with SBC. Also, if ABC fail, you just can't drive. If SBC fails, you can't stop. And of course the latter is much more critical than the former.

But yeah, it would be nice if ABC got a warranty extension.